L.A. Times Earns Three Sigma Delta Chi Awards for Excellence in Journalism

The Los Angeles Times has won three Sigma Delta Chi Awards for excellence in journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists. The Times received the top honors for investigative reporting, crime reporting and regional political reporting. The awards, which recognize outstanding work published or broadcast in 2025, were announced in a virtual presentation on July 9.

Times staff earned the investigative reporting award (single issue circulation 40K+ or affiliated website/online only) for a series of reports revealing how the government failed the public during the January 2025 L.A. firestorms. The winning entries revealed that extra engines were only deployed once the Palisades fire burned out of control; Western Altadena received an evacuation order many hours after the Eaton fire exploded; and firefighters were ordered to leave a smoldering burn site days before the Palisades inferno erupted. The competition judges praised The Times’ reporting, calling it “an outstanding review of the L.A. Fire Department’s missteps during the wildfires that destroyed much of the Pacific Palisades community and killed 17 people.”

Times staff writer Matthew Ormseth received the award for crime reporting (print/online) for his coverage looking into the dark corners of California’s underworld. The judges cited Ormseth’s submission as “a terrific example of what a career journalist can deliver. With over a decade of experience covering organized crime in Southern California, focusing on Mexican street gangs, prison based syndicates, high stakes illegal gambling, gang wars, Ormseth delivered outstanding and comprehensive work looking at the high stakes clandestine poker world that led to murder.”

Former Times staff writer Melody Gutierrez won the regional political reporting award (all platforms) for her investigation into how debt claims are used as a vehicle for conspiracy-laced demands and vendettas against politicians, judges and public employees. The judges called the report, “an incredible and significant investigative piece on unscrupulous political activists who use a loophole to destroy the credit of opponents.”

To see the complete list of Sigma Delta Chi Award winners, visit spj.org.